This invention relates to an electrical connector, more particularly to an electrical connector having securing elements that are arranged in non-symmetrical form.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an electrical connector 1 and a circuit board 2 in an assembled state. The electrical connector 1 includes an insulating base 10, a plurality of conductive terminals 11 received in the insulating base 10 and two securing elements 12 positioned on the insulating base 10. The insulating base 10 has a body 100, an insert portion 101 connected to one side of the body 100 for coupling with a matching electrical connector (not shown), and a coupling face 102 disposed on the other side of the body 100 opposite to the insert portion to contact the circuit board 2. The conductive terminal 11 has a contact end 111 and a coupling end 112 opposite to the contact end 111 such that the contact end can be exposed from the insert portion 101 and that the coupling end 112 projects and exposed from the coupling face 102. Further, two securing elements 12 are respectively disposed on two symmetrical sides of the coupling face 102 of the body 100 and project outwardly from the coupling face 102. During assembly of the electrical connector 1 and the circuit board 2, the circuit board 2 is provided with solder holes 21 corresponding in position to the coupling ends 112 of the conductive terminals 11, respectively, and securing holes 22 corresponding in position to the securing elements 12, respectively. By inserting the coupling ends 112 of the conductive terminals of the electrical connector 1 into the solder holes 21 in the circuit board 2, and by inserting the securing elements 12 of the electrical connector 1 into the securing holes 22 in the circuit board 2, after furnace reflow, electrical connection and securing of the electrical connector 1 and the circuit board 2 can be simultaneously achieved.
However, since the molding device, process, assembly, etc., employed by the conventional electrical connector 1 are fixed, in particular the securing elements 12 are generally mounted on the insulating base 10 in the same manner as the conductive terminals 11 and are arranged on the coupling face 102 of the insulating base 10 in a symmetrical manner, i.e., the imaginary line 13 of the two securing elements 12 is generally parallel to an axis 14 passing through the coupling face 102 of the insulating base 10. However, in case there is a special specification requirement for the securing elements 12 to be offset from the insulating base 10 in a non-symmetrical manner, due to the many factors involved in the manufacturing process, e.g., specially made molding devices and processes for particular specifications, the costs of manufacturing such type of electrical connectors will be considerably increased. Besides, the design is directed to the specification of only a single electrical connector, and there is a lack of flexibility in application.
Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector structure that includes securing elements in a staggered arrangement, and that can adapt to produce an arrangement of securing elements with different amounts of staggering to thereby provide flexibility in application, without the need to considerably modify the molding device and manufacturing process.
Accordingly, the electrical connector of the present invention includes an insulating base, a plurality of conductive terminals and two securing elements so as to electrically connect and secure to a circuit board for coupling with a matching electrical connector.
The insulating base has a body and a connecting portion connected to one side of the body to contact a matching electrical connector. The body has a coupling face disposed proximate to the circuit board, a first face and a second face disposed adjacent to two opposite lateral edges of the coupling face, and two positioning grooves disposed in two opposite end portions of the body and sunken toward the second face relative to the first face such that the positioning grooves are respectively formed with insert slots in the first face, and the depths of the two positioning grooves that are sunken from the first face toward the second face differ by a certain distance.
The conductive terminal has a contact end and a coupling end. Each of the conductive terminal is positioned in the insulating base such that the contact end is disposed on the connecting portion of the insulating base to electrically contact the matching electrical connector and that the coupling end is exposed from the coupling face of the insulating base to electrically connect with corresponding contacts on the circuit board.
The securing element has a connecting end and a securing end opposite to the connecting end. The connecting end of each securing element enters via the insert slot in the insulating base to fit into the positioning groove such that the securing end of each securing element is exposed from the coupling face of the insulating base to secure to the circuit board. Since the relative depths of the positioning grooves in the insulating base are different, the securing ends of the securing elements and the first face of the insulating base are spaced apart by different distances so that an imaginary connecting line connecting the securing ends of the two securing elements extends in a direction different from an extending direction of the first face, thereby achieving an effect of staggering of the securing ends of the two securing elements relative to each other.